Week 5

I think that every student is different and has their own individual way to learn. Some students learn better with hands on, others learn by listening, and some have to be shown how to do something before they are able to do it. As a teacher I think that we need to know the types of learners the students are and adjust to them in a way that they learn to the best of their ability. The test that we just did will also let us as teachers know a little more about the students that we are teaching. These types of tests can become very helpful in figuring out things about the students that we might not find out any other way. I also believe that what the test shows might not be true because the student might have interrupted the question different and we need to take that into effect.

Week 4

Unfortunately I haven’t used spreadsheets all that much. After learning a small bit about them, I believe that they can become useful to me as I become a teacher. From figuring grades to make some sort of student list, they have many advantages to make life easier. I believe that if there is a way to make something easy, I’m going to figure it out and use it.

Teachers use spreadsheets all the time to figure grades and calculate a large amount of information at one time. The main advantage that a spreadsheet has over a calculator is that a person can enter equations to figure numbers throughout the entire document instead of figuring each number one at a time. The three functions that the book talks about such as storing, calculating, and presenting information are the only functions that I can think about. If a person can figure out these three functions with a spreadsheet they pretty much have a spreadsheet figured out.

Week 3

Inspiration is full of many new ideas with technology and how to apply them in the class room. As an Ag teacher I was surprised that I found ways that Inspiration could be helpful to me and also a teaching tool. Ag is a science and there are many science related topics that might be helpful to me. One in particular that stood out was the classification web. This exercise would allow me to teach the classification of different breeds of animals in a more interesting way than just using a handout. Another exercise that caught my attention is the budget plan. As a teacher that will be traveling and attending various activities, this would allow me to map out each trip and figure a budget out. Since most Ag programs are on a tight budget this will help with spending less money.

Chapter 5 explains spreadsheets and how they can be used in the classroom. All of you know by now that I will be teaching agriculture and shop classes. As an Ag teacher I could have students use spreadsheets for a variety of things. One of things that I would be able to teach by using a spreadsheet would be the different types of feed materials and how much to combine for different rations. This would be very helpful in order to show visually how much goes into each type of feed. Ways that students could help each other during writing would be providing ideas before the writing process is started and during the writing process by reading over each other’s paper. This will produce better papers in many aspects such as new ideas from one another but also errors will be caught before the paper is turned in resulting in better grades. Last week I explained why I thought blogs were a good idea and how they could be used in my classroom. With blogs comes comments and I think that comments with limitations would be a good way to support peer feedback

Chapter 6

Blogs are a good way to share ideas and feeling about specific topics. They can be useful in many different ways such as a teaching tool or a way to get to know people and things that are happening all around us. Blogs are a way for people to be able to express their thoughts and feelings but they also allow other people to view and comment on what they have said. The text explains how blogs can be used effectively in the classroom. I feel that if the teacher stays on topic with what they are teaching, I think the blogs can be a valuable teaching tool to use in the classroom. The text in chapter six brings up a good point about using blogs as a class discussion. For some students, coming up with ideas in a face to face discussion is difficult because they are challenged by the amount of time to think of something to say or they become nervous speaking in front of people. Blogs provide an easy way to discuss topics with a class because there is more time to think and give a thought out response. Blogs are also a part of our growing technology and I believe that people can benefit from this unique tool.

I plan to enter the teaching field as an Ag teacher. I doubt that very many, if any Ag departments use blogs as a teaching tool in their classroom. As I thought about blogs and how useful they can really be, I came up with some ways I could use them in my classroom. One way that I thought blogs could be a learning tool would be when students go to shows, judging events, or different FFA activities, they could write about their experience at those events for the other students to read and learn about what goes on from a students perspective. Another way that I thinks blogs could be used in my classroom would be when students are assigned for homework to write a blog about what they learned in class that day. This would make them look back and maybe help them retain that new knowledge but also give other students something else to think about.

About Me

I grew up in Ector, TX where I also attended school from Kindergarten through 12th grade. After graduating at Ector, I went to Grayson County College for two and a half years and recieved my accociate's degree in general education and also a structural welding certification. In January of 2009 I transfered to Texas A&M-Commerce where I plan to graduate in May of 2010 with a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Science with a teacher's certification.

I have a relatively small family. I am an only child. My parents, aunt, and uncle are all teachers and my grandmother is a retired teacher. I guese I am following in their foot steps by becoming a teacher myself.